The Equi=Tech (ET) is an isolation transformer that
converts standard AC into balanced power.So what is balanced power?That’s
the same question I had when I first heard about it.Of course the second was, "what does it do for me?"

To explain balanced power I must first make sure we are
all on the same sheet of music as to how AC is delivered to our equipment.

What comes out of the wall is unbalanced (a.k.a. single
ended) AC (Alternating Current).It
has a hot conductor (120 V) and a neutral conductor (0 V), along with ground. This is the way AC has been delivered since its inception. With
balanced power, you get +60 V on one conductor and –60 V on the other
conductor, relative to the ground conductor, giving you 120 V total.Why
is this important?Balanced power
provides common mode noise rejection to eliminate noise.

The ET comes in various flavors.First you must choose what size transformer you want, from 1,
1.5 (under review), 2, 3, 4, and 5 kVA versions.Along with the different size, there is the option of adding the SI, E,
EA, and F options.SI ($179) stands for Super Isolator.It is a transformer that is wound with exceptionally low
capacitance. I did not have the SI option for my review.

The E and EA ($189 each) are European models.The EA will let you run US equipment in Europe by using a
step-down transformer that converts 230 V to 120 V.

The F option ($179), which I did have installed, is an
EMI/RFI filter.At the
time of order, you specify how many of the outlets on the back you want
filtered.They will then place an
orange dot on all the filtered outlets.I had four of the five receptacles running through the filter, which is
designed primarily for digital components, like CD DACs, rather than analog
components, like amplifiers.

This is the first time I have added a “Pro”
component to my home theater system.In
the past it has all been standard consumer gear.Dealing with Equi=Tech was much different than talking to a typical
high-end audio manufacturer. Currently, the Equi=Techs are sold factory
direct. This keeps the costs lower but makes it harder for anyone to
evaluate.

Equi=Tech is located in Selma Oregon and offers a wide
range of isolation transformers besides the ones mentioned above. You
can read about their other offerings as well as some valuable information
on AC wiring systems and ways to improve them by using a "star grounding
system".

When I spoke to Martin Glasband, the founder of Equi=Tech,
he was really interested in what I was going to plug into the ET.He wanted to know their power ratings to be sure I had the right size
transformer.Some companies can
end up providing a transformer that is inadequate for the
job, which can result in poorer sound quality and/or a buzzing (resonating)
transformer in your living room.Dealing
with Martin was different. He knew the limitations and wanted to be absolutely
sure I was not going to run into them. His biggest concern was my amplifier, the Sunfire Cinema
Grand.It can crank out a lot of
power and should not be plugged into a transformer unless the transformer can provide
enough juice. I had no problems with the Sunfire connected to the ET.
The
Sunfire has a 10 Amp fuse on the back, and the ET 1.5 could easily handle it.This included having the rest of my AV system, minus the TV, plugged
into the ET.

Since the ET 1.5 is a 15 Amp unit, it should be
connected to a dedicated 20 Amp outlet. The problem that most people
have is their entire room is all on one 20 Amp circuit. I had the ET
isolated on a dedicated 20 Amp circuit. I was hoping to test the ET
mated with an industrial 20 Amp UPS but as things go, I could not get around
to it, and I did not want to delay letting our readers know about the ET.

What’s Inside?

The ET is really pretty
simple. There is a huge center tapped toroidal
transformer, an EMI/RFI filter (if you have the F option), some connecting
wires, and
that’s really about it.

The weight of the ET comes almost entirely from the
transformer, which for my 1.5 kVA unit, was about 40 pounds?Be
sure to lift with the knees when placing this in your equipment rack!

A main power switch is on the front to provide the
unbalanced AC to the transformer.On the
back is another power switch that provides the balanced AC to the
outlets.There are five
two-socket receptacles giving you ten outlets, with orange dots indicating
filtration.

Also on the front are two LEDs, a small one for the
main power switch and a larger one for the rear power switch.The big one really illuminated my room.I would have preferred a smaller, dimmer LED.I could easily have disconnected it or replaced with a different one if
I wanted to, but the NFL preseason is about to start, and I would rather spend
time checking out the schedule. Heck, just put a piece of masking tape over
the LED.

The rack mount ears, which are mounted on the unit by
default, are not in the photo because I had to remove them to get the top off.

On the back of the ET is stenciled a message telling
you NOT to plug lighting into it. In
particular, variable lighting controls produce a lot of electrical noise, and
there is no sense tempting fate.

Jacked’ in

When you initially turn on the ET, there is a transformer
buzz as the windings charge up, but this goes away after a few seconds.I was never able to cause it to buzz with all outlets
occupied and everything running at full blast.

Balanced Power's claim to fame is in lowering the overall
noise floor, but they also claim that they cut digital jitter in half.Equi=Tech includes a work sheet titled, “How to Do an Audio System
Noise Floor Test” providing the user with a simple method to see how much better
off you are with balanced power.The test that they have requires the use of a DAT player,
which I do not own, so I was not
able to judge their test. However, I did find a couple of other instances that
sold
me on balanced power.

First, let me give you a little background information.[You can read more about this problem in the Meridian 861 review
here.]I switched from the Meridian 565 surround processor to the Meridian
861.The 861 uses a FIFO RAM
buffer to de-jitter the incoming signal.I quickly learned that not all digital sources work well with this. If
the source is EXTREMELY bad, you will end up with problems.Meridian added an update to the 861, which allows you to bypass the
FIFO and use a standard PLL.

The problem I encountered was only when I used the
Panasonic LD-10 Palm Theater portable DVD player.I would get about 15 audio dropouts per movie.I must have watched 20 movies, and each exhibited the exact
same problem.I did not have this
problem with the Sony DVD player and the 861, nor did I have this problem with
the 565 and the LD-10.

After inserting the ET into the chain, the dropouts
vanished!I was not expecting
this, as their literature claims that balanced power can lower digital
jitter, but I thought it would not be noticeable with the Meridian FIFO.Man was I wrong!Just to verify I was not hallucinating, I watched another 15
or so films, some of the same movies I had experienced the dropouts with prior to the
ET and nothing, not a single audio dropout occurred!I removed the ET and the audio dropouts returned. So, right
then and there, the ET became a keeper for me.

From what I can tell, the power supply in the Panasonic LD-10 is
pretty bad, but after all, the LD-10 was designed for portability.
Unfortunately, using it as a portable means you won't be connecting it to the
ET, but my experiences show that using balanced power does indeed improve the
digital bitstream output from DVD players.

The second improvement I noticed was when playing back
material at very loud volumes.(Actually,
it occurs at any volume, but the louder I played, the more impressed I was.)
I found the background noise to be almost non-existent.I have been to trade shows,
listening to $$$ equipment, and the hiss
coming out of the speakers was depressing.Removing the ET from the system resulted in a faint increase in
background noise.With the lower
background noise level, I could hear more overall detail.Things that were masked before were now clearer, at least to my ears.Foley effects in films can sometimes be masked by background noise, and
with the ET, I believe I heard every Foley effect recorded.Apparently, I improved my system's overall signal-to-noise ratio.

I had read elsewhere that plugging everything into an ET
would result in a big drop in background noise with no source playing.I did not experience that.Whether
or not all of my equipment was connected to the ET, and with no source
playing, the background level was the same when I pressed my ear up against
the speaker.

It wasn’t until music started playing that I noticed
the lower overall background noise.And
as I said above, I could play my system at very loud volumes, and the
background noise was almost non-existent.Of course, I could always add “true” balanced amplifiers to the
system and have a complete absence of background noise.This covers their other claim on lowering the noise floor.

What about improved soundstage and all that other good
stuff?The Meridian
861/Sunfire/Von Schweikert combo was already reproducing an extremely
accurate sound field.Other than
the quieter background, which I loved, all other aspects appeared unchanged.

I am constantly pouring over all of the Internet news
groups and bulletin boards as well as other AV magazines.I keep reading about revelations people have had when they
plugged product X into power conditioner Y.I am sure you know what I am talking about. Well, they WORK!

I noticed only one significant picture improvement when using the
ET. When I plugged my Toshiba TV
and DVD player into the ET, the black level was slightly better. Blacks were
now really black, not gray, and I had the black level set correctly. The effect is similar to
using the black masking in a front projector to cover the black bars in a
letterboxed film. You think those bars are black until you use the
projector's blacker mask. This is the effect I witnessed with the
ET. What I did not witness was improved sharpness or more vivid colors
that others have claimed to experience with power conditioners.

With the Dwin
HDP-500/TranScanner and Sony S-7000 DVD player, the improved black was less noticeable.
Does this mean that nothing happened?No, I believe some products have better designed power supplies than
others, and thus, are better at dealing with lower quality AC.The picture I was viewing from the Dwin combo was already pretty
spectacular.

Conclusion

Balanced power is really cool. I was able to get the
most out of my 861's advanced FIFO jitter reduction technology. The ET
allowed the FIFO to de-jitter the unusually poor digital signal coming from
my LD-10 without resorting to the standard jitter reduction in the 861.

I was also able to obtain a silent audio background without
upgrading to a more costly balanced amplifier.If you read my last hi-fi reports, you will know how disappointed I have been
lately with the amount of background noise coming from expensive equipment.Here is an affordable solution that everyone can benefit from.